Time and the impatience of our culture have conspired to leave Lewis Mumford as someone we dimly recognize but probably haven't read. By gathering some of the best of Mumford's "The Sky Line" columns from The New Yorker of the Thirties, editor Wojtowicz does readers of our era a great service. Mumford was best known as an architectural critic, but this collection shows him as an urban aesthetician at his best when writing as an analyst of the values, life, and political culture of New York City. Today, his ridicule or praise of a strip of brick or his dissection of window placement in a massive wall may be of little consequence, but these essays remain valuable because they demonstrate Mumford's ability to find art and precision in many of the city's physical spaces while clarifying the sociological schematic of New York. Wojtowicz's compact biography of Mumford is a fitting prelude to the essays of this very busy writer. Diamonstein is the chair of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center. The third edition of her book includes a section on recently designated landmarks while holding to the format of the 1988 and 1993 editions: a straightforward black-and-white photograph of the building is accompanied by a brief text on its history, purpose, and significance. This book is formal and comprehensive, making it a significant library reference source with particular usefulness in the New York metropolitan area. Both works are recommended for all architecture as well as regional collections.?David Bryant, New Canaan
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.